TheCOVID-19PandemicandMajorChangesUnseeninCenturies

YuanPeng

Abstract: The outbreak of coronavirus has caused profound changes in the world. Against the backdrop of major changes unseen in centuries, international politics, world economy, power relations, geopolitics, global governance and development model have experienced severe shocks. During the coronavirus crisis, it is too early to draw a final conclusion, but some major trends are crystal clear. The relations between China and the rest of the world have been taken to a crossroads again.

Keywords: coronavirus, international order, major changes unseen in centuries, China and the world

TheFutureofGlobalizationundertheImpactoftheCOVID-19Pandemic

FuMengzi

Abstract: The coronavirus epidemic has profound significance and may become a watershed in the process of globalization. The development of globalization will witness periodic changes. China is an active participant and promoter of globalization. After getting out of the worst stage of the epidemic, China will speed up the domestic circulation and give priority to promoting the regional circulation of neighboring countries. In the long run, the pace of globalization will not stop. The renewal of globalization after the pandemic will become a new trend which meets the expectations of all parties.

Keywords: globalization, coronavirus, pandemic, industrial chain

GlobalOilMarketisFacingaShock

CICIRResearchGroup

Abstract: The year of 2020, especially since March, has witnessed unprecedented turbulence in global oil market. Oil prices plunged off the cliff under a series of bearish blows. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, has inflicted precipitous drop in oil demand and thus created a supply and demand crisis. This was something never seen in the history. The oil collapse is adding up to the weakness of the world economy and global financial markets. The oil producing countries are grappling with serious financial troubles. The US debt-ridden oil companies could default, risking more instability for the bond market and the banking sector. As the largest oil producing and consuming country in the world, the US has been vacillating between the two roles and is showing signs of inclination towards “price protection” by taking an active intervention in global efforts to cut oil production. This may give us some hints on potential changes in the international energy geopolitics.

Keywords: oil prices, supply and demand, world economy, financial markets, energy geopolitics

Trump’sAsia-PacificAllianceAdjustments

LingShengli

Abstract: The adjustment of the Trump administration’s foreign policy has greatly affected the Asia-Pacific alliance, presenting a dual trend of strong security and weak economy. In terms of politics, the United States and its allies still maintain relatively frequent communication, but they are treated differently. In terms of security, the cooperation between the United States and its allies has been strengthened, but the divergence about defense sharing of the alliance has increased. The United States forces the allies to make continual concessions, which exacerbates the economic and trade frictions. This round of Asia-Pacific alliance adjustment is characterized by the continuous tilt of alliance responsibilities towards allies, more obvious multilateral security cooperation, and increasingly divergent security and economic interests within the alliance. For China, it is necessary to gradually increase bilateral and multilateral cooperation between China and the US Asia-Pacific allies, promote “China-US-neighbors” cooperation mechanisms, expand the strategic space for China’s peripheral diplomacy, and realize the organic coordination of peripheral diplomacy and diplomacy towards US.

Keywords: Asia-Pacific alliance, Trump administration, China-US relations, Asia-Pacific security

TheMeaningConstructionofWesternDevelopmentAidEvaluation

ZhangChuanhongandLiXiaoyun

Abstract: Aid effectiveness evaluation occupies a central position in Western development assistance. It is not only an important reference for reflecting on aid concepts and guiding aid practice, but also a means for Western developed countries to implement neo-colonialism in developing countries and a discourse tool for maintaining political hegemony. Western traditional donors and multilateral aid agencies have gradually constructed a set of international development knowledge systems, and established knowledge hegemony in this field through leading the development assistance evaluation mechanism and continuously improving the discourse and practices of the development assistance effectiveness. However, there is a deep contradiction between discourse and practice in this evaluation mechanism. Moreover, data and method deficiencies complicated the evaluation process, which provides space for Western countries to maintain their long-term dominant and potentially unequal “donor-recipient” aid architecture.

Keywords: Western development assistance, aid effectiveness, international cooperation, international relations construction

(Edited by Zhang Yimeng)